Application For Transfer Of Refugee Status

Written by Arshad Mahmood

Refugees who have been granted asylum by another country are subject to normal immigration control. There are cases, however, where the UK will accept responsibility for their protection and give them leave to enter or remain in the UK as refugees.

Persons recognised by the UNHCR under its mandate (i.e. mandate refugees rather than Convention refugees) who have not been granted refugee status by a country are not eligible to apply for transfer of refugee status.

People who have been recognised as refugees by another country have two options if they wish to come to the UK as refugees:

an application to transfer their refugee status to the UK from the host country; or

a claim for asylum, based on a fear of persecution in the host country (assuming that the claimant continues to fear persecution in the country from which they were originally granted asylum).

A claim for asylum under (2) will fall to be considered under the Immigration Rules, like any other asylum claim and will also be subject to consideration under Safe Third Country removal procedures. Applications for transfer of responsibility for a refugee under (1) will require consideration outside the rules under the Secretary of State's discretion. Some will fall to be considered first in accordance with the UK's obligations under the European Agreement on the Transfer of Responsibility for Refugees (EATRR), if the country that recognised the applicant as a refugee hasratified the EATRR. The EATRR is a Council of Europe Agreement and does not form part of UK domestic law.

THE EUROPEAN AGREEMENT ON THE TRANSFER OF RESPONSIBILITY FOR REFUGEES (EATRR)

In accordance with the EATRR, the UK will normally accept a transfer of responsibility for the refugee and grant leave if the applicant:

is lawfully resident in the UK (i.e. the applicant is not an illegal entrant or overstayer and is not applying from abroad or at port); and

has been recognised as a refugee under the 1951 Convention or the 1967 Protocol by one of the other countries which have ratified the EATRR; and

a transfer of responsibility is deemed to have occurred

Deemed transfer of responsibility under the EATRR

As long as both the first two conditions above are met, transfer of responsibility for an applicant will be deemed to have occurred where any one of the further conditions set out at (i) to (iii) below is met.

The applicant has completed two years’ continuous stay in the UK with the agreement of the authorities.

"With the agreement of the authorities" in this context means:

with leave, other than leave in the excepted categories listed below; or

awaiting the UK Border Agency's decision on an application for leave other than an application for leave in the excepted categories listed below.

Visits abroad for less than three consecutive months or six months in total should be included in the two year qualifying period

Periods spent in detention in connection with a criminal conviction or pending an appeal against an immigration decision which is ultimately dismissed will not count towards the two year qualifying period

Leave granted solely for the purpose of studying, training or receiving medical treatment falls into the excepted categories, and will not count towards the two year qualifying period. Leave in other categories, including visits, is not excepted under the EATRR and will count.

The applicant has been granted leave to remain in the UK on a permanent basis - i.e. the applicant has been granted indefinite leave to enter or remain (ILE/R). Leave leading to settlement will not bring an applicant into this category.

The applicant has been permitted to stay in the UK beyond the validity of a Convention travel document issued by the host country. "Permitted to stay" means “given the agreement of the authorities to stay” and should be interpreted in line with the advice on "with the agreement of the authorities" above. This condition is not met if:

the extension beyond validity was granted solely for study or training; or

the person is still re-admissible to the host country. The applicant will be re-admissible to the host country if the UK requests readmission within six months of the expiry of the applicant’s Convention travel document. Where the person’s whereabouts are not known so that readmission to the host country cannot be requested within six months of the expiry of the travel document (for example, where the person is an illegal entrant), the request for readmission may be made within six months of the person coming to the notice of the UK authorities, so long as that is within two years of the expiry of the travel document.

An application that falls to be refused under the EATRR should also be considered on a discretionary basis outside the EATRR.

Discretionary Cases

Some applications for transfer of refugee status do not fall within the EATRR provisions, either because the refugee has been recognised by a country that has not signed the EATRR, or because the refugee does not meet the terms ofthe EATRR. These will need to be considered on a case by case basis.

Responsibility for such cases should only be accepted where the UK is clearly the most appropriate place for the applicant's long term refuge. Responsibility for a refugee should not be transferred simply because the refugee wishes to enter or stay in the UK.

Such applications may be made at a British diplomatic post abroad as well as at a port or in country. It will not always be necessary to interview the applicant before refusing a transfer application. However, where despite correspondence the caseworker remains unclear about any aspect of the applicant's case or wishes to obtain further information, an interview may be used to clarify matters.

Factors to consider in assessing these applications include:

length of time in the first country of refuge as compared to length of time in the UK;

strength of ties with the host country compared with the UK (e.g. family members or a previous association such as a period of long residence); and

The immigration solicitors at Sunrise Solicitors are experts in dealing with application for transfer of refugee status from another refugee convention state to the UK . The quality of our service is self-evident from clients' reviews about the service provided by our immigration lawyers. You can contact us if you are seeking legal help from immigration lawyers in London in relation to your application for transfer of refugee status and our immigration solicitors will provide you fast, friendly, reliable and professional immigration service.

If instructed to represent you regarding your application for transfer of refugee status, the casework to be carried out by our immigration solicitors will include the following:

Taking detailed instructions from you in relation to your application for transfer of refugee status and advising you about the relevant immigration laws and procedures to be adopted by the Home Office, UKVI in your application for transfer of refugee status;

Discussing your application for transfer of refugee status in detail with you and advising you about the weaknesses and strengths of your application for transfer of refugee status;

Advisising you about the documentary evidence to be submitted in support of your application for transfer of refugee status;

Considering contents of the documentary evidence to be submitted in support of the application for transfer of refugee status and discussing the same with you;

Preparing a cover letter to introduce and support the application for transfer of refugee status;

Liaising with the Home Office, UKVI for a timely decision on your application for transfer of refugee status;

Protecting your interests while your application for transfer of refugee status is pending with the Home Office, UKVI and keeping you informed on the progress of your refugee transfer application;

Doing all the follow up work until decision is reached on your application for transfer of refugee status.

Our Fee For Application For Transfer Of Refugee Status

We will charge you a fee from £1,500 + VAT for our professional immigration services in relation to your application to the Home Office UKVI for transfer of your refugee status. The agreed fee will depend on the complexity of the matter and the casework involved in the matter.

If you cannot afford to pay our fee in full at the time of instructing us in relation to your matter, you can pay half of the fee at the time of instructing us and rest of the fee can be paid by monthly instalments.

The agreed fee will cover all our work until decision by the Home Office on the application. However, it is pertinent to note that the agreed fee will not cover any disbursements to be incurred by the company on your behalf e.g. translation of documents, fees of country expert for expert report etc.